Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A58

In this write-up, we are analyzing the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A58, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the A58 (20MP) is fairly well matched but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A58 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M5 was announced 19 months prior to the A58 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A58 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-M5 scores vs the A58 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony SLT-A58. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony A58 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 offers external dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony A58 has sizing of 129mm x 95mm x 78mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 3.1") with a weight of 492 grams (1.08 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A58 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-M5 against the A58.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and A58 is 81 and 68 respectively.

More often than not, it is very difficult to see the gap between sensor measurements simply by checking a spec sheet. The photograph below should provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 and A58.

Clearly, the 2 cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 with its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony A58 will give greater detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics a little more aggressively. The older E-M5 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.